PATIENTS are flooding to A&E departments when they could be treated elsewhere, NHS bosses have heard.

New data released by NHS Lincolnshire reveal that A&E departments at Boston's Pilgrim Hospital and sites in Lincoln and Grantham have treated an average of an extra 215 people a week so far in the 2009/10 financial year compared to 2008/09.

And the board of NHS Lincolnshire heard that this demand is contributing to an overspend of £16.2 million on the money given to United Lincolnshire Hospitals Trust in 2009/10.

Director of strategic planning and health outcomes at NHS Lincolnshire Dr Martin McShane said: "The 64 dollar question is how do you manage to reduce demand for a service you promote as having a less than four hour wait like A&E.

"It's a terrific service and a victim of its own success. A proportion of people will turn up at A&E with a complaint that a GP or walk-in centre can deal with."

GP and board member Dr Brynnen Massey claimed the Government's FAST campaign to help promote the first signs of stroke – Facial weakness, Arm weakness, Speech problems and Time to call 999 – would have resulted in more people coming to A&E.

He said: "We get used to people with chest pains dialling 999 and not coming via the GP.

"It's things like that which are having an impact on A&E. What we have to do is advertise the alternative.

"Everyone knows A&E is seven days a week and 24 hours a day but they might not know when the walk-in centre opens."

Director of finance and contracting at NHS Lincolnshire, Andrew Spring, stated the trust's spending on hospital services continues to be higher than planned.

He said: "The overspend is linked to the activity at ULHT in particular non elective activity such as outpatients and A&E."

Roger Buttery, a non-executive director at NHS Lincolnshire, said that people need to be told what health services they should be using and when.

He added: "There needs to be a message going through to the public at this stage."